© Copyright 2020 - The Library Company of Philadelphia, 1314 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. TEL (215) 546-3181 FAX (215) 546-5167
For inquiries, please contact our IT Department
- Title
- Views of Liberia from "W.F. Lynch report of mission to Africa"
- Description
- Series of titled views of the Black emigrant country of Liberia (founded 1822) that accompanied a government report compiled by William F. Lynch, Commander, United States Navy following an exploratory excursion to the west coast of Africa. Depicts the stone mansion of Joseph Jenkins Roberts, the first president of Liberia (1847-1855); Episcopal Mission, near Cape Palmas, Mt. Vaughan, founded in 1834 under the auspices of the Maryland Colonization Society and the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church; Monrovia (i.e., Liberia) from Bushrod's Island; and Cape Palmas, a Liberian settlement. Views include lush landscapes, Black and white residents, sailing ships, and dwellings., Title from name of the publication., Artists include John H.B. Latrobe and William S. Seager., Printed below images: Senate executive documents, No. 1, 33rd Congress, 1st Session, Part III., Published in "W.F. Lynch report of mission to Africa," Senate Executive documents, 1st Session, 33rd Congress, part 3, vol. 1, doc. 1, p. 329-389., Latrobe, a Baltimore landscape painter, also served as President of the Maryland Colonization Society., Gift of David Doret, 2004., Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014., Wagner & M'Guigan, a partnership between Philadelphia lithographers Thomas S. Wagner & James M'Guigan, was active 1846-1858.
- Creator
- Wagner & M'Guigan
- Date
- [1853]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department GC - Views - Foreign - Africa [P.2004.33.5a-d]
- Title
- Friend's Meeting House. Race Street, Philadelphia
- Description
- View showing the Race Street facade of the large brick building built circa 1856 to house the meeting, later known as Friends' Central Meeting (Hicksite) at the southwest corner of Fifteenth and Race Streets (1520 Race Street), extending to Cherry Street (1501 Cherry Street). A wrought-iron fence encloses the property and the date marker "1856" is visible near the roof of the building. Friends are visible entering and on the grounds of the meeting house. Also shows pedestrians on the sidewalk, a brick wall with trellis attached to the fencing, and a neighboring building. The building, the second meeting house for the Hicksites (separation in 1827), was built in response to the women's meeting's request for a larger and safer meeting space than the first Hicksite meetinghouse at Fifth and Cherry streets. The Race Street side of the building was used by the monthly meeting and the Cherry Street side by the Yearly Meeting. Race Street was the site of the Hicksite Philadelphia Yearly Meeting between 1857 and 1955., Published in Ezra Michener's A retrospect of early Quakerism. (Philadelphia: T. Elwood Zell, 1860), opp. p, 53. [Ao 10 16587.O], One of prints (P.9830.19) gift of Jay Snider., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 281
- Creator
- Queen, James Fuller, 1820 or 21-1886, artist
- Date
- [1860]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department BW - Churches & Meetinghouses - F [P.9507 and P.9830.19]
- Title
- Friend's Meeting House. (Side elevation)
- Description
- View showing the side elevation of the large brick building, Race Street Meeting House, built circa 1856 to house the meeting, later known as Friends' Central Meeting (Hicksite) at the southwest corner of Fifteenth and Race Streets (1520 Race Street), extending to Cherry Street (1501 Cherry Street). Friends enter the building and walk on the paths surrounding a lawn in the foreground. The building, the second meeting house for the Hicksites (separation in 1827), was built in response to the women's meeting's request for a larger and safer meeting space than the first Hicksite meetinghouse at Fifth and Cherry streets. The Race Street side of the building was used by the monthly meeting and the Cherry Street side by the Yearly Meeting. Race Street was the site of the Hicksite Philadelphia Yearly Meeting between 1857 and 1955., Not in Wainwright., Published in Ezra Michener's A retrospect of early Quakerism. (Philadelphia: T. Elwood Zell, 1860), opp. p. 28. [Ao 10 16587.O], Philadelphia on Stone, POS 281b
- Creator
- Queen, James Fuller, 1820 or 21-1886, artist
- Date
- [1860]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Stack Stack Ao 10 16587.O, opp. p. 28
- Title
- Friend's Meeting House & School. Race St. East of 16th
- Description
- View showing two large brick buildings built circa 1856 and occupied by the Race Street Meeting House (center) and Friend's Central School (left) at the southwest corner of Fifteenth and Race Streets (1520 Race Street). Friends enter the meeting house and gather in front of the wrought iron fence lining the grounds. The meeting house, the second one for the Hicksites (separation in 1827), was built in response to the women's meeting's request for a larger and safer meeting space than the first Hicksite meetinghouse at Fifth and Cherry streets. The Race Street side of the building was used by the monthly meeting and the Cherry Street side by the Yearly Meeting. Race Street was the site of the Hicksite Philadelphia Yearly Meeting between 1857 and 1955. Friends’ Central School, established in 1845, was located at the southwest corner of Fifteenth and Race streets from 1857 to 1925., Published in Ezra Michener's A retrospect of early Quakerism. (Philadelphia: T. Elwood Zell, 1860), frontispiece. [Ao 10 16587.O]., One of prints (P.9830.18) gift of Jay Snider., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 281a
- Creator
- Queen, James Fuller, 1820 or 21-1886, artist
- Date
- [1860]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Stack Stack Ao 10 16587.O, frontispiece and P.9830.18
- Title
- Wood & Perot. Wood, Miltenberger & Co. Ornamental iron works. 1136 Ridge Avenue, Philadelphia. 57 Camp Street, New Orleans Manufacturers of iron railings for cemetery enclosures, public squares, churches and private residences, iron verandahs, balconies, bank counters, stairs (in every variety), mausoleums or tombs, chairs, settees, tables, tree boxes, hitching posts, lamp posts, brackets, statuary and all other iron work of a decorative character. Drawings furnished to those who wish to make selections
- Description
- Advertisement containing two side-by-side views bordered on top by an ornate floral design. Depicts heavy street and pedestrian traffic showing the neighboring "Ridge Avenue" factory and the "Twelfth Street" foundry of the iron works. Ridge Avenue view shows the massive "Wood and Perot Ornamental and Iron Railing Factory Iron Works" at 1136 Ridge Avenue. Signage advertising "Manufacturers of decorative iron work," "verandahs," and "counters" adorns the building. On the roof, a large statue of Henry Clay stands, and an American flag flies from a tower. Workers load horse-drawn wagons stationed in front of the works as pedestrians mill past. Iron railings lean against the building, animal statuary is displayed on the sidewalk, and employees and patrons stand in doorways. In the street, a carriage travels in the direction of a stopped, packed "Ridge Avenue" omnibus receiving and discharging passengers. Across the street, near a tree, ladies in heavy capes and holding parasols promenade past a man pointing out the Clay statue to his male companion., Twelfth Street view shows the new iron foundry completed circa 1858 to the rear of the Ridge Avenue works on the 400 block of Twelfth Street. Two laborers steady a horse-drawn cart near the entry to the factory that is adorned with a tower flying a "Wood & Perot" flag. In the street, an omnibus is followed by a volunteer riding one of a two-horse team drawing a steam fire engine. Three boys follow and direct the engine. Across the street, a man, potentially a constable, prepares to open the call box attached to a telegraph pole as a family of five promenades down the block. Also shows the tops of the spires of the Church of Assumption (1133 Spring Garden Street) in the background. Wood & Perot, a partnership between Robert Wood and Elliston Perot, was active between 1857 and 1865., Published in Edwin T. Freedley's Philadelphia and its manufactures: a handbook exhibiting the development, variety, and statistics of the manufacturing industry in Philadelphia in 1857 (Philadelphia: Edward Young, 333 Walnut Street, 1859 [c1858]), opposite page 450., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 864.2, Historical Society of Pennsylvania: HC 108 .P5 F8 1859.
- Date
- [1859]
- Location
- Historical Society of Pennsylvania W469.2 [HSP HC 108 .P5 F8 1859]
- Title
- Eliza crosses the Ohio on the floating ice
- Description
- Engraving illustrates an episode from Chapter 7, "The Mother's Struggle." With her young son, Harry, in her arms, Eliza crosses the frozen Ohio River in search of freedom. In the background at the left, the slave-trader from whom she has fled stands on the river's edge. Next to him, two slaves lift their hands in a gesture of rejoicing., Illustration in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin (London: John Cassell, Ludgate Hill, 1852), p. 16., Caption underneath the image reads: "The huge green fragment of ice on which she alighted pitched and creaked as her weight came on it, but she staid there not a moment. With wild cries and desperate energy she leaped to another and still another cake; -- stumbling -- leaping -- slipping -- springing upwards again! Her shoes are gone -- her stockings cut from her feet -- while blood marked every step." --Page 51., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Fugitives.
- Creator
- Green, W. T., fl. 1837-1872, engraver
- Date
- [1852]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Am 1852 Sto 72726.O p 16., https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2788
- Title
- The marriage
- Description
- Engraving accompanies a fictional episode described in Letter XI, "The Marriage." Leaning over the staircase balustrade in the upper left, the story's narrator observes the scene taking place below, as does Cleopatra, an elderly slave, who watches from several steps down. In the center of the scene, mistress Rosalie forces the slaves Mima and Juniper to jump over a broomstick that stretches between two chairs. This is part of the forced marriage ceremony over which Rosalie presides. When the weeping Mima hesitates to jump, Rosalies boxes her ears with her slipper. In the background, another house-slave watches from behind a door., Plate in Emily C. Pearson's Cousin Franck's Household, or, Scenes in the Old Dominion (Boston: Upham, Ford, and Olmstead, 1853), p 168., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Scenes from Slave Life.
- Creator
- Hayes, George H., engraver
- Date
- [1853]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Am 1853 Pear 73222.O p 168, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2793
- Title
- The whitewasher
- Description
- Illustration shows a familiar Philadelphia character: a black, female whitewasher. The woman is dressed in work-clothes and coarse shoes; her sleeves are rolled-up and the illustrator emphasizes her muscular forearms. According to the accompanying text, the bucket on the floor contains a mixture of lime and water, with a little salt and indigo to make it clear. In the course of her work, the whitewasher dips long-handled brushes (like those seen here) into the mixture and rubs it onto the walls for cleaning., Illustration in City characters, or, familiar scenes in town (Philadelphia: Geo. S. Appleton; New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1851), p. 12., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Work Scenes.
- Date
- [1851]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Am 1851 Cit 68429.D p 12, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2782
- Title
- The laundress
- Description
- Illustration shows a familiar Philadelphia character: a black laundress. She is neatly dressed in a long, flowing skirt; and her head is covered with an untied bonnet. "This woman," as the accompanying text explains, "is engaged by rich people to wash and iron clothes, which have been soiled by wearing." The text continues, "The woman in the picture looks as though she had just finished a hard day's work and was taking clothes home to the owners; she what a large basket she carries. It is full of articles of clothing neatly folded up; and this shows how much the woman has done in one day.", Illustration in City Characters, or, Familiar Scenes in Town (Philadelphia: Geo. S. Appleton; New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1851), p. 32., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Work Scenes.
- Date
- [1851]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Am 1851 Cit 68429.D p 32, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2783
- Title
- The rag-picker
- Description
- Illustration shows a familiar Philadelphia character: a black, male rag-picker. He wears a coarse, loose-fitting smock, trousers, and a cap. He carries a basket fastened to a stick over his shoulder and a hooked instrument in his hand. The accompanying text explains, "You see him with his hooked stick exploring heaps of rubbish, and carefully selecting whatever he finds which may be turned to good account, and storing all away in his basket.", Illustration in City characters, or, familiar scenes in town (Philadelphia: Geo. S. Appleton; New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1851), p. 80., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Work Scenes.
- Date
- [1851]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Am 1851 Cit 68429.D p 80, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2784
- Title
- The wood-sawyer
- Description
- Illustration shows a familiar Philadelphia character: a black wood-sawyer. As the text explains, "This is a hard occupation, followed generally by coloured people. They are old men, and have little ones to support, so that they have to work very hard." Shown in full profile, this mature wood-sawyer carries an axe in his hand and a "Horse" on his back. According to the text, when the wood-sawyer cuts his logs, he puts them on this "curious-four legged machine," which is "very strong, and made of oak or hickory wood." Holding the logs down with one knee, the wood-sawyer cuts off one piece at a time., Illustration in City characters, or, familiar scenes in town (Philadelphia: Geo. S. Appleton; New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1851), p. 96., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Work Scenes.
- Date
- [1851]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Am 1851 Cit 68429.D p 96, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2785
- Title
- Plantation scene -- coffee
- Description
- Illustration is set on a coffee plantation in either South American or the West Indies. Sitting in the shade of a palm tree, a planter watches several slaves at work. To the right, two women and a child pick coffee beans and place them in baskets. In the middle, three women carry full baskets up an incline and dump the beans on the ground. Two men rake and shovel them., Plate in William Blake's The History of Slavery and the Slave Trade, Ancient and Modern (Columbus, Ohio: Published and sold exclusively by subscription J. & H. Miller, 1858), p. 288., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Work Scenes.
- Creator
- Felch-Riches, engraver
- Date
- [1858]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Am 1858 Blake 70419.O p 288, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2803
- Title
- View of cotton plantation and gen [sic] in West Indies in 1764
- Description
- According to the title, the image is set in the West Indies in 1764. The lithograph accompanies a brief discussion of the history of cotton cultivation in the New World. The featured plantation is situated near the coast, and three ships (presumably trading vessels) are visible in the background. In the right foreground, a slave picks cotton from a plant and places it in a basket. Behind him, another slave carefully cleans the picked cotton. At the far left, a female slave operates an early cotton gin, and two men pack large sacks of finished cotton. Two full sacks of cotton occupy the left foreground; one bears the label "7 No. 120 / P.R.M.", Plate in the Report on the Agriculture and Geology of Mississippi (Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo, and Co. for E. Barksdale, State Printer, 1854), plate VIII, p. 140., Engraving is based upon a print executed by Prevost and published in the first volume of Diderot's Encylcopedia (Paris: 1762) under the title "Oeconomie Rustique, Culture et Arsonnage du Coton.", Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Work Scenes.
- Creator
- Fuchs, F., lithographer
- Date
- [1854]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Am 1854 Miss Sta 13287.O p 140, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2798
- Title
- Douglass wird von Coven gezüchtigt
- Description
- Engraving accompanies a brief history of Frederick Douglass' early years (c. 1817-1838), and was included in the article, "Bilder aus dem Sklavenleben" (Pictures from Slave Life). Set in a plantation field, the scene shows Douglass on his hands and knees with his shirt hanging around his waist. Standing behind him, a slave-holder named Coven (Douglass' master from approximately 1833-34) beats his bare back with a stick. According to the text, Coven never let a week go by without whipping Douglass and his back never healed., Illustration in Weber's Volks-Kalendar (Leipzig: Verlag von J.J. Weber, [1853]), p. 143., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Punishment Scenes.
- Date
- [1853]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Am 1853 Web 21101.O p 143, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2796
- Title
- The mother's struggle
- Description
- Illustration shows the fictional character, Eliza, and her young son, Harry, as they flee from slavery in search of freedom. As Stowe wrote, "The frosty ground creaked beneath her feet, and she trembled at the sound; every quaking leaf and fluttering shadow sent the blood backward to her heart, and quickened her footsteps." (p. 74), Illustration in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin (Boston: John P. Jewett and Company; Cleveland, Ohio: Jewett, Proctor, and Worthington, 1853), p. 73., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Fugitives.
- Creator
- Baker & Smith, engraver
- Date
- [1853]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Am 1853 Stowe 12939.O p 73, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2795
- Title
- [The freeman's defense]
- Description
- Engraving depicts an episode from chapter 17. Atop a rocky embankment, George and Phineas defend themselves, Eliza and Harry, and Jim Selden and his aged mother from an approaching group that includes Marks, Uncle Tom, and two constables., Illustration in the first German translation of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin (Oheim Tom's Hütte) printed in America (Boston: John P. Jewett and Company; Cleveland, Ohio: Jewett, Proctor, and Worthington, 1853), p. 79., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Fugitives.
- Creator
- Baker & Smith, engraver
- Date
- [1853]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Am 1853 Stow 71311.O p 79, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2794
- Title
- Scipio hunted, "As men hunt a deer!"
- Description
- Equipped with dogs and rifles, a party of men surround Scipio, an escaped slave, who lies wounded on the ground. St. Clare intervenes, claiming Scipio as his prisoner in order to prevent the men from shooting him., Illustration in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin (London: John Cassell, Ludgate Hill, 1852), p. 176., Caption underneath the image reads, "He fought the dogs right gallantly, and actually killed three of them with only his naked fists . . . . It was all I could do to keep the party from shooting him." --Page 200., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Fugitives.
- Creator
- Jackson, Mason, 1819-1903, engraver
- Date
- [1852]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Am 1852 Sto 72726.O p 176, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2790
- Title
- Gezo, King of Dahomey
- Description
- Portrait image of King Gezo [i.e. Gezu], who ruled the Kingdom of Dahomey (now part of southern Benin) from 1818-1858. Through the help of the slave-trade, Dahomey flourished during the 18th and 19th century, and is said to have reached its highpoint during Gezu's rule. In the lithograph, the king is shown with one of his attendants, who holds a parasol over his head. In Part II, "Abomey, its Court and its People," Forbes described King Gezo as "about forty-eight years of age, good-looking, with nothing of the negro feature, his complexion wanting several shades of being black; his appearance commanding, and his countenance intellectual, though stern in the extreme. That he is proud there can be no doubt, for he treads the earth as if it were honoured by its burden. Were it not for the slight cast in his eye, he would be a handsome man. Contrasted with the gaudy attire of his ministers, wives, and caboceers (of every hue, and laden with coral, gold, silver, and brass ornaments), the king was plainly dressed, in a loose robe of yellow silk slashed with satins stars and half-moons, Mandingo sandals, and a Spanish hat trimmed with gold lace; the only ornament being a small gold chain of European manufacture." (vol. 1, p. 76-77), Frontispiece for Frederick E. Forbes's Dahomey and the Dahomans: Being the Journey of Two Missions to the King of Dahomey, and his Residence at the Capital, in the Years 1849 and 1850 (London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1851), vol. 1., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Africa: Images, Maps, and Geography.
- Creator
- M.&N. Hanhart Chromo Lith, lithographers
- Date
- 1851
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare U Afri Forbes 9727.D v 1 frontispiece, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2905
- Title
- The reception of the "Ah-Haussoo-Noh-Beh" or "Queen's Mouths."
- Description
- Depiction of a ceremony featuring King Gezu's ambassadors ("Ah-Haussoo-Noh-Beh"), which Forbes witnessed during his travels in the Kingdom of Dahomey, now part of southern Benin. In Part II, "Abomey, its Court and its People," Forbes recalled seeing "a vast assembly of cabooceers and soldiers, with umbrellas of state, flat-topped, and ornamented like those of the Chinese, and banners of every hue and most varied devices. Besides the Dahoman standards, each of which was ornamented by a human skull, floated the national flags of France, England, Portugal, and Brazil, whilst evey cabooceer had his own particular pennon." (p. 73) "The square of the palace," Forbes continued, "was filled with armed people, seated on their hams, the polished barrels of their Danish muskets standing up like a forest. Under a thatched gateway [right] was the king, surrounded by his immediate wives; while on each side sat the amazons, all in uniform, armed, and accoutred; and in the centre of the square squatted the males. Hundreds of banners and umbrella enlivened the scene, and a constant firing from great guns and small arms increased the excitement." (p. 75), Plate in Frederick E. Forbes's Dahomey and the Dahomans: Being the Journey of Two Missions to the King of Dahomey, and his Residence at the Capital, in the Years 1849 and 1850 (London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1851), vol. 1, p. 74., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Africa: Images, Maps, and Geography.
- Creator
- M.&N. Hanhart Chromo Lith, lithographers
- Date
- 1851
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare U Afri Forbes 9727.D v 1 p 74, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2906
- Title
- Insurrection on board a slave ship
- Description
- Lithograph was copied from an engraving originally published in Carl Bernhard Wadstrom's Essay on Colonization (London: Printed for the author, by Darton and Harvey, Gracechurch-Street, 1794-95). As the title suggests, the lithograph shows an insurrection aboard a slave ship. From the vantage point of a raised barricade near the ship's stern, the crew fires upon (what looks to be) hundreds of slaves crowded upon the deck. A number of slaves jump overboard. A cloud of smoke hovers over the British vessel., Illustration in William Fox's A Brief History of the Wesleyan Missions on the Western Coast of Africa (London: Printed for the author, published by Aylott and Jones, 8, Paternoster-Row: sold also by John Mason, 66, Paternoster-Row, MDCCCLI [1851]), p. 116., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Scenes from the Slave Trade.
- Creator
- Walton, W. L., lithographer
- Date
- [1851]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Am 1851 Fox 12623.O p 116, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2786
- Title
- Inspection and sale of a Negro
- Description
- Scene is set in the town of Bangalang, near the modern city of Kambia in Sierra Leone. According to Théophile Conneau's narrative, the engraving shows the notorious slave-trader Jack Ormond as he inspects a slave for purchase. As Conneau explained, "As each negro was brought before him, Ormond examined the subject, without regard to sex, from head to foot. A careful manipulation of the chief muscles, joints, arm pits and groins was made, to assure soundness. The mouth, too, was inspected, and if a tooth was missing, it was noted as a defect liable to deduction. Eyes, voice, lungs, fingers and toes were not forgotten; so that when the negro passed from the Mongo's [i.e, "King of the River," Ormond's nickname] hands without censure, he might have been readily adopted as a good 'life' by an insurance company." (p. 94) To the left of the central pair, another European slave-trader (presumably the seller) sits on a crate, smoking a cigar as he watches the inspection. His book, the quill, and the ink-well suggest that he is prepared to record the day's transactions. To the right, another European trader converses with three African merchants, possibly members of the Mandingo tribe. The subject of their discussion may be the sale of goods in Africans' trunk., Illustrated plate in Théophile Conneau's Captain Canot; or, Twenty Years of an African Slaver (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 346 & 348 Broadway; London: 16 Little Britain, M.DCCC.LIV [1854]), p. 94., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Images from the Slave Trade.
- Creator
- Whitney, Jocelyn & Annin, engraver
- Date
- [1854]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Am 1854 Can 10796.D p 94, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2797
- Title
- The slave chain
- Description
- Engraving accompanies Part III ("Sojourn at Whydah") of Forbes's travel narratives. Whydah, now known as Ouidah, is a port-city in Benin that figured importantly in the 19th- century slave-trade. Set in front of a trading depot, the illustration shows a line of slaves who are chained together at the neck. Two European overseers crack their whips., Illustration in Frederick E. Forbes's Dahomey and the Dahomans: Being the Journey of Two Missions to the King of Dahomey, and his Residence at the Capital, in the Years 1849 and 1850 (London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1851), vol. 1, p. 100., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Scenes from the Slave Trade.
- Date
- [1851]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare U Afri Forbes 9727.D v 1 p 100, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2907
- Title
- The Africans of the slave bark "Wildfire"
- Description
- Engraving shows the manner in which hundreds of African slaves were crowded on the deck of the "Wildfire," an American vessel captured off the northern coast of Cuba in April 1860. According to the accompanying text, the ship had left the Congo River thirty-six days before her capture, and had roughly five hundred Africans on board. The capture of the "Wildfire" was led by Lieutenant Craven of the United States steamer Mohawk. His experience was recounted in Harper's Weekly as follows: "Soon after the bark was anchored we repaired on boad, and on passing over the side saw, on the deck of the vessel, about four hundred and fifty native Africans, in a state of entire nudity, in a sitting or squatting posture, the most of them having their knees elevated so as to from a resting place for their head and arms. They sat very close together, mostly on either side of the vessel, forward and aft, leaving a narrow open space along the line of the centre for the crew of the vessel to pass to and fro. About fifty of them were full-grown young men, and about four hundred were boys aged from ten to sixteen years. It is said by persons acquainted with the slave-trade and who saw them, that they were generally in a very good condition of health and flesh, as compared with other similar cargoes, owing to the fact that they had not been so much crowded together on board as is common in slave voyages, and had been better fed than usual." (p. 344), Illustration in Harper's Weekly, vol. IV, no. 179 (June 2, 1860), p. 344., Caption underneath the image reads: "The slave deck of the bark 'Wildfire,' brought into Key West on April 30, 1860. -- [From a Daguerrotype.]", Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Scenes from the Slave Trade.
- Date
- [June 1860]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare **Per H 1529.F v IV n 179 June 2 1860 p 344, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2651
- Title
- African slave trade
- Description
- Illustration is set on the eastern coast of Africa, most likely in Sierra Leone. In the center, a slave-trader inspects a slave for purchase. To the left of the pair, another European slave-trader (presumably the seller) sits on a crate, smoking a cigar as he observes the inspection process. His book, the quill, and the ink-well suggest that he is prepared to record the day's transactions. To the right, another European trader converses with three African merchants, possibly members of the Mandigo tribe. The subject of their discussion may be the sale of goods in the Africans' trunk. To the far right, an overseer with a raised whip marches behind a row of bound slaves who are headed toward a ship., Plate in William Blake's The History of Slavery and the Slave Trade, Ancient and Modern (Columbus, Ohio: Published and sold exclusively by subscription J. & H. Miller, 1858), p. 112., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Images of the Slave Trade.
- Creator
- Felch-Riches, engraver
- Date
- [1858]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Am 1858 Blake 70419.O p 112, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2802
- Title
- Scene in the hold of the "Blood-Stained Gloria." (Middle Passage)
- Description
- As the title suggests, the engraving shows the hold of the Gloria, a Brazilian slave-ship upon which the author travelled. In Chapter XV of his Revelations, Drake described the conditions on board: "our slaves," he wrote, "were crammed in hold, cabin, and peak, and packed like herrings, on the shelves, around our vessel's sides; and what was worse, gratings were kept down half the time." (p. 88-89) Continuing to describe the "horrors of this dreadful passage," he added, "The sick and dying were chained together. I saw pregnant women give birth to babes, whilst chained to corpses, which our drunken overseers had not removed. The blacks were literally jammed between decks, as if in a coffin; and a coffin that dreadful hold became, to nearly one-half of our cargo, before we reached Bahia." (p. 89) In the engraving, Ruiz, the ship's captain, has entered the hold with one of his mates. In addition to a lantern, the captain carries a large sword, while his mate carries a rifle. A cat-o'-ninetails can be seen on the floor., Fold-out plate in Richard Drake's Revelations of a Slave Smuggler: Being the Autobiography of Capt. Rich'd Drake, an African Trader for Fifty-Years from 1807 to 1857; during which Period He Was Concerned in the Transportation of Half a Million Blacks from African Coast to America (New York: Robert M. De Witt, publisher, [c1860]), p. 28., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Scenes from the Slave Trade.
- Creator
- Andrew & Filmer, engraver
- Date
- [c1860]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Am 1860 Dra 72735.O p 28, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2806
- Title
- Persecuted virtue
- Description
- Illustration accompanies a recollection made by George, a fugitive slave, in Chapter XI, "In Which Property Gets into an Improper State of Mind." In conversation with Mr. Wilson, George recalled how his sister was whipped by her owner for no other reason that wanting a decent Christian life. Correspondingly, the image captures the moment leading up to George's sister's whipping. Stripped to the waist, she waits on her knees as shabby looking white man ties her wrists to a post. In the center of the scene, a black overseer stands with a whip in his hand, talking with the master. Chains and shackles hang from the rear wall of the barn interior., Illustration in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin (London: John Cassell, Ludgate Hill, 1852), p. 112., Caption underneath the image reads, "She was whipped, sir, for wanting to live a decent Christian life, such as your laws give no slave girl a right to live." --Page 95., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Punishment Scenes.
- Date
- [1852]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Am 1852 Sto 72726.O p 112, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2789
- Title
- The Roxborough School House. Founded by William Levering, 1748, rebuilt 1795
- Description
- Exterior view of the small two-and-one-half story school house, renamed the "Levering Primary School" in 1847. Shows the side and front of the building also used as a public hall. A gated pathway and fence are visible next to the school house. A large tree stands in the front yard. The school was rebuilt again in 1857. William Levering (1705-1774) was a proprietor with large land holdings who not only built the first school in Roxborough, but the first smith shop and inn., Not in Wainwright., Published in Horatio Gate Jones's The Levering Family; or, a genealogical account of Wigard Levering and Gerhard Levering,....(Philadelphia: King & Baird, 1858), opp. p.26., pdcc00027, Philadelphia on Stone, Free Library of Philadelphia: Castner 27A:32
- Date
- [1858]
- Location
- Free Library of Philadelphia. | Print and Photograph Collection. FLP Castner 27A:32
- Title
- To the depot
- Description
- Plate from a children's moral instruction book showing a drayman sitting on top of bundles of goods, driving a horse-drawn dray away from the river toward a building, probably a custom house. Includes a partial view of a vessel docked at the wharf, the front facades of buildings facing the water, and a church spire in the distance. The number "56" has been drawn onto one of the bundles on the dray., Not in Wainwright., Published in City Sights for Country Eyes ([Philadelphia]: American Sunday School Union, [1856])., Accompanied by text titled "To the depot" moralizing that everyone must work together to make business for others, and that each contribution is equally important. Uses the example of farmers, mechanics, manufacturers and merchants who work together to distribute goods., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 757, Historical Society of Pennsylvania: Bd 61 K 8343.4, Free Library of Philadelphia: \\RBD\\ASSU\\V\\C498S\\FACSIM.\\
- Creator
- Kollner, Augustus, b. 1813
- Date
- [1856]
- Location
- Historical Society of Pennsylvania HSP Bd 61 K 8343.4
- Title
- Chorus -- sing, darkeys, sing
- Description
- Pro-slavery image set on Fairfield Plantation, a fictional plantation near Macon, Georgia. This scene of casual socializing shows a large "corn-shucking" or husking. A group of men, women, and childen sit around a large pile of corn husks. Laughing and talking with one another, they husk the corn and toss the ears aside. A man identified in the text as Uncle Cato sits on top of pile and leads the others in singing. Two white overseers, who, according to the text, provided the slaves with whiskey, stand near a tree in the background., Illustration in Robert Criswell's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" contrasted with Buckingham Hall, the planter's home; or, A fair view of both sides of the slavery question (New York: Printed and published by D. Fanshaw, No. 108 Nassau-street, 1852), p. 64., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Scenes from Slave Life.
- Creator
- Whitney & Annin, engraver
- Date
- [1852]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare 2 Wright 660 71441.O p 64, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2652
- Title
- The festival
- Description
- Set at Buckingham Hall, a fictional plantation near Charleston, South Carolina, this pro-slavery image presents a scene of general merriment. In accordance with the wishes of their benevolent master, Col. Buckingham, the slaves celebrate a "holiday and festival." Jerry, the leader of the band, sits upon a hogshead and plays his fiddle. Next to him, others play banjos, bones, and other instruments for the entertainment of a group of dancers. Other slaves eat ("from a fatted calf"), drink ("something better than water"), and socialize. Col. Buckingham and his family enjoy the festivites from a raised platform in a tree to the right., Illustration in Robert Criswell's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" contrasted with Buckingham Hall, the planter's home; or, A fair view of both sides of the slavery question (New York: Printed and published by D. Fanshaw, No. 108 Nassau-street, 1852), p. 112., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Scenes from Slave Life.
- Creator
- Whitney & Annin, engraver
- Date
- [1852]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare 2 Wright 660 71441.O p 112, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A3139
- Title
- Osman
- Description
- Illustration accompanies the narrative, "The Dismal Swamp." A fugitive slave identified only as Osman sits amidst some tangled undergrowth. Holding his gun, he appears watchful. According to the text, a "tattered blanket" is wrapped about his shoulders, and he wears "little other clothing than a pair of ragged breeches an boots." His hair and beard are described as "tipped with gray." (p 453), Illustration in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol. 13, no. 76 (September 1856), p. 452., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Fugitives.
- Date
- [September 1856]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Per H 9 62992.O v 13 n 76 September 1856 p 452, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2873
- Title
- The successful manhunt
- Description
- Engraving portrays an episode described in Hildreth's fictional narrative. With blood- hounds in tow and "armed to the teeth," a party of mounted slave-hunters proceeds with two captured fugitives: the young man marching in front around whose neck a rope has been tied, and the older man, identified in the narrative as Wild Tom, who rides on horseback and whose arms are tied behind his back. In the center of the image, the lifeless body of Snapdragon, a Yankee overseer, is draped over a horse. He was killed by Wild Tom during the course of the man hunt., Plate in Richard Hildreth's Archy Moore, the White Slave; or Memoirs of a Fugitive (New York and Auburn: Miller, Orton & Mulligan, 1855), p. 290., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Fugitives.
- Creator
- Baker & Smith
- Date
- [1855]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Am 1855 Hildr 72210.O p 290, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2801
- Title
- "Old Joseph, the Patriarch"
- Description
- Engraving accompanies a fictional episode described in Letter IV, "The 'Purchases' -- Old Joseph." Episode takes place on Christmas Eve in the cabin of the coachman Rafe, the slave seated on the log near the fireplace to the extreme right. Rafe has learned that he will soon be sold, and thus separated from his wife, who sits to his right, and their young child, who rests on her lap. Other slaves cluster around the couple, trying to comfort them. Leaning on his walking stick, Old Joseph (described as "the beau ideal of a patriarch, at once humble, dignified and venerable") stands and faces the group, offering words of wisdom and consolation. Interior is furnished with a bench, a chest of drawers, a large chair, and stools of varying sizes. The men's discarded top hats are placed throughout the room, as are assorted utilitarian and domestic objects, such as pots and pans, an umbrella, and an axe. In the foreground, a book, quite possibly the Bible, rests on a stool., Frontispiece for Emily C. Pearson's Cousin Franck's Household, or, Scenes in the Old Dominion (Boston: Upham, Ford, and Olmstead, 1853)., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Scenes from Slave Life.
- Creator
- Hedge, Franklin, b. ca. 1830, engraver
- Date
- [1853]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Am 1853 Pear 73222.O frontispiece, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2792
- Title
- [Scene from Northwood, or, life North and South]
- Description
- Set in a lush grove on the bank of a river, lake, or pond, the vignette features a black man (presumably a slave), who helps a young white boy (most likely the son of his master) steady a fishing pole. The well-dressed boy sits on the knee of the barefoot slave., Vignette in a full-page advertisement for Sarah Hale's Northwood; or, Life North and South (New York: H. Long & Brother, 43 Ann-Street, [1852]), printed in The Literary World: a Gazette for Authors, Readers, and Publishers, edited by C.F. Hoffmann (New York: Osgood & Co., 1852), vol. 11, no. 299 (October 23, 1852), p. 272., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Scenes from Slave Life
- Creator
- Orr, John William, 1815-1887, engraver
- Date
- [October 1852]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare *Per L 49.7 2478.Q v 11 n 299 p 272, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2883
- Title
- Alfred Jenks & Son's machine works, Bridesburg
- Description
- Advertisement showing the busy industrial complex established circa 1819 by Alfred Jenks and enlarged in 1853 on the east side of Richmond Street between Franklin & Locust streets in Bridesburg. A horse-drawn flatbed truck enters the courtyard of the U-shaped complex containing several buildings that are surrounded by wood fencing. Within the yard, clusters of workers transport boxes and planks of wood by hand near an unhitched wagon surrounded by crates. A carriage with driver waits near a smaller building, landscaped with trees and attached to one of the large workshops. Outside the complex, a driver handles a four-horse team plodding to pull a truck loaded with two large machines as other factory workers transport planks, carry crates, mill about with their tools, drive a dray, and stand at a shed facing the street. Also shows two gentlemen talking to a worker in the middle of the roadway, a worker carrying a box near abandoned carts in an adjacent courtyard, and several working smokestacks on the roofs of the works., Illustration in Edwin T. Freedley's Philadelphia and its Manufactures (Philadelphia: Edward Young, 333 Walnut Street, 1858), opposite page 301., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 13.2, Wainwright retrospective conversion project, edited., Library Company of Philadelphia: in Am 1858 Fre 67170.D., Historical Society of Pennsylvania:, Atwater Kent Museum: 40.79.3/2
- Date
- 1857
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department W33.2 [Am 1858 Fre 67170.D.301a]
- Title
- Ethnographic tableau Specimens of various races of mankind
- Description
- Chart showing racist depictions of fifty-four, bust-length, portraits of men and one woman of different "races" from eight geographic regions to emphasize contrived differences in cranial characteristics. The “Geographical Distribution” includes I. Arctic, II. Asiatic, III. European, IV. African, V. American, VI. Polynesian, VII. Malayan, and VIII. Australian. With each region, six depictions of individuals of that race are shown, some facing forward and some in profile. Many of the individuals are depicted as racist stereotypes. Many are attired in hats, turbans, or headdresses custom to their country of origin. In the left, under the caption “Cranioscopic Examples,” nine different skulls in right profile are depicted. In the right, chart sections include “Mankind, Grouped Physiologically” and “Linguistic Distinctions.”, Title from item., Folded plate removed from Josiah C. Nott and George R. Gliddon's Indigenous races of the earth (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co.; London: Trubner & Co., 1857) (LCP *Am 1857 Nott (1)2733.Q (Rush)). See "Explanations of the tableau" pages 618-638., Captions below images on recto: Artic: Eskimo, Tchucktchi, Koriak, Aleoutian, Aino, Samoyede. Asiatic: Kamtschadale, St. Laurent Islander, Tartar, Chinese, Kalmuck, Tuda. Euro[pean]: Finn, Icelander: Cuvier, Bulgarian, Greek, Caucasian. [Euro]Pean: Syrian, Arab, Fellah, Berber, Uzbek Tatar, Affghan (sic). African: Ababdee, Sahara Negro, Yeboo Negro, Mozambique Negro, Caffr, Hottentot. American: Kutchin Indian, Stone Indian, Ottoe Indian, Yucatan Indian, Boroa Indian, Fuegian. Polynesian: New Zealander, Samoa Islander, Tikopia Islander, Vanikoro Islander, Tana Islander, Viti Islander. Malayan: Malay, Javanese, Marianne Islander, Hindoo, Mintira, Negritto. Australian: North Australian, West, Australian, South Australian, Tasmanian, Tasmanians (Men, Women)., Bequest of Dr. James Rush, 1869., RVCDC, Description revised 2021., Access points revised 2021., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
- Creator
- Kramer, Peter, 1823-1907, artist
- Date
- 1857
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department ***BW-Natural history [(1)2733.Q.1]
- Title
- Truey, the Griqua maid
- Description
- Portrait image of Truey (or Getrude), a young Griqua woman who had been captured by warriors loyal to the great Zulu chief Moselekatse. A maid, Griqua serves meat to Moselekatse's visitors., Plate in Sir William Harris's The wild sports of Southern Africa: Being a narrative of a hunting expedition from the Cape of Good Hope, through the territories of the Chief Moselekatse, to the Tropic of Capricorn (London: Henry G. Bohn, York Street, Covent Garden, 1852), p. 120., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Africa: Images, Maps, and Geography.
- Date
- [1852]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare U Afri Harris 14048.O p 120, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2913
- Title
- Andries Africander, a mulatto Hottentot
- Description
- Portrait image of Andries Africander, a mulatto Hottentot (i.e. Khoikhoi), who served as Harris's driver during part of his travels. A pensioned private in the Cape Rifle Corps, Africander is shown here with his rifle. As Harris noted, and as the engraving suggests, he was missing both his right eye and his index finger. When Harris first made Africander's acquaintance, the latter had already made numerous trips into Moselekaste's country. He was also acquainted with the chief, and spoke a bit of English and Sichuana. He proved, however, to be an unfortunate addition to Harris's party. "A coward, a mutineer, and an inveterate liar," Harris wrote, " . . . Andries caused more mischief and trouble to us by his pernicious example and rebellious conduct when beyond the reach of the law, than can be well conceived by those who have never had the misfortunes to be exposed to the machinations of so dangerous a ruffian." (p. 10), Plate in Sir William Harris's The wild sports of Southern Africa: Being a narrative of a hunting expedition from the Cape of Good Hope, through the territories of the Chief Moselekatse, to the Tropic of Capricorn (London: Henry G. Bohn, York Street, Covent Garden, 1852), p. 8., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Africa: Images, Maps, and Geography.
- Date
- [1852]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare U Afri Harris 14048.O p 8, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2912
- Title
- Wreck of the slave ship
- Description
- According to Hildreth's narrative, the plate shows a domestic slave ship that was caught in a storm while travelling down the Atlantic coast to Charleston. After the captain and crew fled in a jolly-boat, the slaves worked the pumps in the hopes of saving themselves. They were eventually rescued and brought to a jail in Norfolk, Virginia., Illustration in Richard Hildreth's The White Slave: or, Memoirs of a Fugitive (London: Ingram, Cooke, & Co., 227 Strand, MDCCCLII, 1852), p. 80., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Images from the Slave Trade.
- Date
- [1852]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Am 1852 Hildr 70799.O p 80, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2787
- Title
- The emigration
- Description
- Engraving accompanies Chapter VII ("A Variety of Incidents") in Thorpe's fictional narrative. It shows the protagonist, Mildmay, leading his slaves on a journey from North Carolina to Louisiana, where he had purchased a new plantation. Following Mildmay's example, the slaves discarded most of their possessions and took only what they could carry. According to the text, the procession included five large wagons, "which were filled with camp equipage, cooking utensils, sick or delicate women, and infant children." (p. 72), Illustration in Thomas Bangs Thorpe's The master's house; or, scenes descriptive of southern life (New York: J.C. Derby, 119 Nassau Street, 1855), p. 70., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Scenes from Slave Life.
- Creator
- Whitney, Jocelyn & Annin, engraver
- Date
- [1855]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare 2 Wright 2496a 71095.D p 70, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2657
- Title
- The tango
- Description
- Engraving accompanies the lead article "The Carib Settlements." According to the unnamed author, it is set in the house of the "King of the Cannibal Islands" in Tulian, Honduras. In the center of the scene, a small group dances to the sound of the musicians' drums (right). As the author explained, "Our arrival was the signal for the commencement of the festivities. Such another exhibition of the Terpsichorean art I never had the pleasure of witnessing. Their instruments consisted of a couple of drums made of hollow logs with hide stretched over one end, and a Boston tin cracker-box, on which instruments a sort of running accompaniment was beaten with their hands. Wild songs were chanted during the progress of the dance, one of which, more moderate than the rest, and in English, was shouted for our benefit." In the next paragraph, he continued, "I am told their dancing is a perfect counterpart of similar proceedings on the western coast of Africa, from whence they originally came. They place the music in the centre of the room, and arranged themselves around it, and commenced a series of movements of the body, throwing in frequent twists and jerks by way of embellishment." (p. 149), Illustration in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol. 15, no. 86 (July 1857), p. 149., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Scenes from Daily Life.
- Date
- July 1857
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Per H 9 62992.O v 15 n 86 July 1857 p 149, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2874
- Title
- Solomon Northup in his plantation suit
- Description
- Portrait of Solomon Northup, a free citizen of New York, who was kidnapped in Washington City in 1841 and sold into slavery. Northup is shown in a suit that he wore as a slave on a Louisiana cotton plantation., Frontispiece for Solomon Northup's Twelve Years a Slave: Narrative of Solomon Northup, a Citizen of New York, Kidnapped in Washington City in 1841, and Rescued in 1853, from a Cotton Plantation near the Red River, in Louisiana (Auburn: Derby and Miller; Buffalo: Derby, Orton and Mulligan; London: Sampson Low, Son & Company, 1853)., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Scenes from Slave Life.
- Date
- [1853]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Am 1853 Nor 54079.D frontispiece, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2791
- Title
- Slave market scene on the Kambia River, coast of Africa
- Description
- In the center of this busy, crowded scene, a European slave-trader examines the teeth of a male slave who is lying flat on the ground. Another European trader straddles the slave while negotiating with three African merchants. To the right, a well-dressed European merchant observes the inspection process. The open book near his elbow is most likely a ledger in which he will record his purchases. To the left of center, a European slave-trader brands a female slave while others wait their turn. With his back turned toward the viewer, an overseer in the left foreground watches the branding of the slaves. A large hatchet hangs from his belt, and he holds a metal instrument commonly used to restrain and punish slaves. In the left background, an African overseer whips a bound slave. A slave-ship at sea appears in the distant background., Fold-out frontispiece for Richard Drake's Revelations of a Slave Smuggler: Being the Autobiography of Capt. Rich'd Drake, an African Trader for Fifty-Years from 1807 to 1857; during which Period He Was Concerned in the Transportation of Half a Million Blacks from African Coast to America (New York: Robert M. De Witt, publisher, [c1860])., Wood engraving after the 1840 painting entitled "The Slave Trade" by Auguste-Francois Biard., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Scenes from the Slave Trade.
- Creator
- Andrew & Filmer, engraver
- Date
- [1840, c1860]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Am 1860 Dra 72735.O frontispiece, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2805
- Title
- Modes of punishing slaves
- Description
- Illustration is included in Chapter VI, "Domestic Slavery in Madagascar." According to Ellis, he often witnessed "some of the inevitable consequences of the system [i.e., domestic slavery] that were perhaps more revolting in their moral degradation than in the physical suffering inflicted." The girl on the right, for example, represented one such case. As Ellis wrote, "I saw one young girl who had a couple of boards fixed on her shoulders, each of them rather more than two feet long, and ten inches or a foot wide, fastened together by pieces of wood nailed on the under side. A piece had been cut out of each board in the middle, so that, when fixed together, they fitted close to her neck, and the poor girl, while wearing this instrument of punishment and disgrace, was working with the rest." (p. 147-48) The boy on the left represented another such case. Ellis recalled, "On another occasion I saw a boy, apparently about fifteen years of age, with a rough, heavy, iron collar on his naked neck. It seemed to be formed by a square bar of iron of about three quarter of an inch thick being bent round his neck, and the two ends then joined together. Yet he was working with a number of other boys and men employed in carrying fire-wood to the beach for shipping.", Illustration in William Ellis's Three Visits to Madagascar during the Years 1853 -- 1854 -- 1856 (London: John Murray, Albemarle Street, 1858), p. 148., As noted on the title page, the wood engravings are said to be after "photographs, etc.", Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Punishment Scenes.
- Date
- [1858]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare U Afri Ellis 14699.O p 148, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2904
- Title
- Scene in the slave pen at Washington
- Description
- Engraving portrays an episode described in Northup's narrative. After being kidnapped, Northup was held in Williams' slave pen in Washington City. There, he explained, he was beaten by James H. Burch, a well-known slave-dealer, and Radburn, his lackey. Burch is seen on the left, whipping Northup with a cat-o'-ninetails. ("The cat was a large rope of many strands -- the strands unraveled, and a knot tied at the extremity of each.") Describing the scene in his own words, Northup wrote, "As soon as these formidable whips appeared, I was seized by both of them, and roughly divested of my clothing. My feet, as has been stated, were fastened to the floor. Drawing me over the bench, face downwards, Radburn placed his heavy foot upon the fetters, between my wrists, holding them painfully to the floor. With the paddle, Burch commenced beating me." (p. 44), Illustration in Solomon Northup's Twelve Years a Slave: Narrative of Solomon Northup, a Citizen of New York, Kidnapped in Washington City in 1841, and Rescued in 1851, from a Cotton Plantation near the Red River, in Louisiana (Auburn and Buffalo [N.Y.]: Miller, Orton & Mulligan; London: Sampson Low, Son & Company, 1854), p. 44., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Punishment Scenes.
- Creator
- Orr, Nathaniel, engraver
- Date
- [1854]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Am 1854 North 70438.O p 44, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2799
- Title
- Cotton pressing in Louisiana
- Description
- Engraving shows the pressing of cotton, which, according to the unnamed author of an accompanying article, represents "one of the most interesting of the various stages of preparation of cotton for the market." After being picked and harvested, the cotton was compressed into bales similar those shown in the left foreground. The press (center) was described as being "supported by a heavy frame of timber" and "about nine feet in depth." As the author explained, the work proceeded as follows: "Into this, the light, the fleecy substance is poured, and the capstan bar being set to work, it is gradually compressed to the required size, the cords are fastened round the bale, and it leaps out ready for transportation." Commenting on the slaves' labor, the author remarked, "In our sketch, a party is busily filling the press, and two stout hands are removing the bales under the direction of the overseer. But the life and soul of the party is at the capstan, in the person of the lively darky [third from right] engaged in extravagant imitations of the overseer, and jeers at the expense of the solemn figure next to him. This mercurial 'culled passion,' a fair specimen of his light-hearted race, by his jokes and high spirits, almost doubles the motive power at the bars. Though apparently solely occupied with attempts upon the facial muscles of his fellow-servants, yet at the exact moment, he will turn a somerset, kick the shins of his next neighbors, like a playful donkey, and run round with the bars, the loudest in singing the monotonous but not unmusical chant by which the black accompany their labor." (p. 236), Illustration in Ballou's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion, vol. X, no. 15 (April 12, 1856), p. 236., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Work Scenes.
- Creator
- Pierce, William J., engraver
- Date
- [1856]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare *Per B 1 5919.F v X n 15 April 12 1856 p 236, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2862
- Title
- "Virginia hoe-down"
- Description
- Aboard a steamer on the Mississippi River, a black deck-hand and a fiddler hold their own "Virginia hoe-down." The engraving accompanies T.B. Thorpe's "Remembrances of the Mississippi," and corresponds with a passage in which he describes the festive, light-hearted, and "happy" nature of "the negroes of the Mississippi." "With professional boat-men," Thorpe wrote," they are always favorites, and at night, when the 'old ark' is tied up, their acme of human felicity is a game of 'old sledge,' enlivened by a fiddle. On such ocassions the master of the instrument will touch off the 'Arkansas traveler,' and then gradually sliding into a 'Virginia hoe-down,' he will be accompanied by a genuine darkie keeping time, on the light and fantastic heel-and-toe tap." (p. 37) As the deck-hand dances and the fiddler plays, two boatmen play cards and a third looks on., Illustration in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol. 12, no. 67 (December 1855), p. 38., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Scenes from Slave Life.
- Date
- [December 1855]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Per H 9 62992.O v 12 n 67 December 1855 p 38, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2868
- Title
- A Negro funeral
- Description
- Engraving accompanies T. Addison Richard's narrative, "The Rice Lands of the South," which, among other topics, describes slave life on southern rice plantations. It shows a slave funeral, set in a heavily wooded grove, in which numerous mourners take part. A preacher with raised, out-streched arms leads the service; mourners kneel, pray, and weep. Engraving corresponds with the following passage: "The state of excitement and exaltation to which their [i.e, the plantation slaves'] impressionable natures are so easily wrought, especially in religious matters, is manifest in their singing even more strangely than in their preaching and praying. These performances though, are, with all their grotesqueness and absurdity, often very effective and beautiful. Not seldom has it been our pleasure to listen to impromptu music, wondrously sweet and wild and weird, which, well counterfeited on the lyric stage, would bring fame and fortune. Perhaps the most remarkable of these exhibtions are those which are wont to occur on occasions of funeral solemnities, celebrated, as they generally are, in the deep night-darkness of some dense old wood, made doubly dismal by the ghostly light of the pine torches and the phantom-like figures of the scarcely visible mourners." (p. 735), Illustration in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol. 19, no. 114 (November 1859), p. 731., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Scenes from Slave Life.
- Date
- [November 1859]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Per H 9 62992.O v 19 n 114 November 1859 p 731, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2876
- Title
- Aunt Winnie
- Description
- As the title suggests, the engraving is a portrait of Aunt Winnie, whom Strother's described as an "aged domestic" of "much importance" on a large Virginia estate. "Aunt Winnie," he explained, "was supposed to be upward of a hundred years old, and could count among her descendants children of the fifth generation" (one of whom stands at her side). According to Crayon, Aunt Winnie's cabin, a portion of which is visible in the portrait, "was fitted up with due regard to the comfort of the aged occupant, not forgetting the ornamental, in the shape of highly-colored lithographs and white fringed curtains." (p. 309), Illustration in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol. 13, no. 75 (August 1856), p. 310., Engraving accompanies Porte Crayon's [i.e., David Hunter Strother's] "Virginia illustrated. Adventures of Porte Crayon and his cousins," which was published in book form in 1857 by Harper & Brothers of New York., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Scenes from Slave Life.
- Creator
- Orr, John William, 1815-1887, engraver
- Date
- [August 1856]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Per H 9 62992.O v 13 n 75 August 1856 p 310, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2872
- Title
- The cook
- Description
- As the title suggests, the engraving is a portrait of a Virginia cook, whom Crayon described as "not merely a black woman, . . . but one bearing a patent stamp by the broad seal of Nature; the type of a class whose skill is not of books or training, but a gift both rich and rare -- who flourishes her spit as Amphitrite does her trident (or her husband's, which is all the same), whose ladle is as a royal sceptre in her hands, who has grown sleek and fat on the steam of her own genius, whose children have the first dip in all gravies, the exclusive right to all livers and gizzards, not to mention breasts of fried chickens -- who brazens her mistress, boxes her scullions, and scalds the dogs . . . ." (p. 176) Shown in her kitchen, the stout cook wears an apron and a kerchief, and is surrounded by bowls, buckets, a grill, and cooking utensils., Illustration in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol. 12, no. 68 (January 1856), p. 177., Engraving accompanies Porte Crayon's [i.e., David Hunter Srother's] "Virginia Illustrated. Adventures of Porte Crayon and his Cousins," which was published in book form in 1857. See David Hunter Strother, Virginia Illustrated (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1857)., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Work Scenes.
- Date
- [January 1856]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare Per H 9 62992.O v 12 n 68 January 1856 p 177, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2870